


Batman on the Mountain

by MaskoftheRay



Category: Batman - All Media Types, Young Justice - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, Batman needs a hug, Bruce Feels, Bruce and Clark are best friends, Bruce is (understably) grumpy, Bruce will give it to him if Clark won't, Gen, Hurt Bruce, I have like never actually watched YJ... you have been warned, Prompt Fill, Requested fic, Superboy needs one too, Superman is a bad parent (at least here), bruce whump
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-25
Updated: 2019-01-25
Packaged: 2019-10-15 20:31:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,086
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17535743
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MaskoftheRay/pseuds/MaskoftheRay
Summary: Batman is supposed to come to the mountain and train the team. But, Robin says, he's not coming because Batman recently broke his leg in a fight against Killer Croc and Clayface. Also,Supermantook him off the JL's active-duty roster. But has something like that ever stopped Batman before?Prompt: Bruce whump with Young Justice.





	Batman on the Mountain

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Goddess_of_Lies](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Goddess_of_Lies/gifts).



> Disclaimer: 1. I do not own any of these characters, DC Comics does. 2. I know very little about YJ, so the characters might be ooc. You have been warned.
> 
> Story title adapted from the song, _Fire on the Mountain_ by the Grateful Dead. I also quote the song at the beginning of the fic. 
> 
> This fic was requested by [Goddess_of_Lies](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Goddess_of_Lies), who was wonderful enough to attempt to help me write better characterization for it.
> 
>  **Light edits as of 8/16/19**. 
> 
> Hope you all enjoy this!

"Fire! Fire on the mountain!  
Almost ablaze still you don't feel the heat  
It takes all you got just to stay on the beat.  
You say it's a livin', we all gotta eat  
But you're here alone, there's no one to compete.  
If mercy's a business, I wish it for you"  
— _Fire on the Mountain_ , the Grateful Dead

_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-__-_-_-_-_-

It appeared to be a normal afternoon in Happy Harbor. Most of the team had already arrived at Mt. Justice for the afternoon’s training session. Robin had already begun warming up, and was currently doing some sort of complicated maneuver on the pommel horse, capeless. Miss Martian and Superboy were standing in a corner, talking quietly, with half-eaten— and half-forgotten— granola bars clutched in their hands. Aqualad was switching between lunges and push-ups in another corner. But underneath it all was a sort of buzzing tension. Even Robin, for whom the pommel horse was usually easy as breathing, had a fierce look of concentration on his face. 

Artemis walked in and immediately dropped to the floor, reaching for her toes. After she’d done both legs, she stood, stretched, and asked the room at large, “What’re you all so antsy about?” But before anyone could answer, the atmosphere was disturbed by a streak of red and an abrupt, brisk breeze. 

“Hey guys!” called the happy, hyper voice of one Kid Flash, “you all ready for Bat's training day? Oh man, I bet it’s gonna be _brutal!_ Hey, Rob—” 

Artemis sighed, ignoring the fact that Kid Flash had been speaking. “Oh, that’s today? I thought that was next week,” she said, annoyed. 

“What, you’re not excited?” Wally quipped, ready to get defensive. 

“Chill, Wally. It’s not Batman I’m unexcited about. It’s being sore for the rest of the week. I have my P.E. final on Friday, and also, Green Arrow’s gonna kill me if I fall behind on patrol,” she explained, rolling her eyes. 

Robin leapt gracefully and soundlessly down from the pommel horse. He scowled and interrupted, “Batman’s not coming, Wally.” At this, a silence fell over the room. Kid Flash looked a bit dejected. Aqualad rose from his most recent set of lunges and walked over. Miss Martian broke away from Superboy and glided over to the larger group. Connor followed, a slight scowl sweeping across his face. 

“This is news to me,” Kaldur said, gray-blue eyes seeking Robin’s in an inquiring way. Dick scowled again, taking a moment to wipe a bead of sweat from his face with one glove. 

“Great, so I came here for nothing,” Artemis muttered. 

“I was looking forward to it. Batman may be strict, but I find we improve greatly under his tutelage,” M’gann said softly, also turning to Dick slightly. 

Connor shrugged. “Yeah, Bats is alright. Why’s he not coming?” he asked. 

Dick scowled, and muttered, “Alfred banned him from any extra activities. He got hurt on patrol a while ago and isn’t allowed out for another two weeks.” 

Another silence, this time more uneasy, fell over the teens, even Artemis. Finally, M’gann asked what everyone (except Robin) was thinking, “What happened?” 

Robin sighed. “He went after Killer Croc alone, even though it wasn’t a school night and I didn’t have anything important going on. Turns out Croc was working with Clayface on something and B got ambushed—" Miss Martian gasped and Robin gave her a quelling look— “he’ll be fine, of course. But it wouldn’t have happened in the first place if I’d been there.” 

“So who’s taking over?” asked Kaldur, sounding a little cross at not being informed of this. 

“Black Canary,” Robin said. 

“ _Oh_ ,” Wally said, sounding a bit dejected. Artemis elbowed him and Miss Martian frowned. So naturally, Superboy also turned to scowl at Kid Flash. Wally held up his hands. “Sorry! It’s not that I’m disappointed it’s _her_ , Black Canary is great. It’s just… Batman is kinda awesome— sorry, Rob, I know that’s your dad we’re talking about— but it’s true! And we see Black Canary all the time.” 

Superboy snorted and Aqualad rolled his eyes. Robin groaned and looked like he was about to retort. But they were interrupted by the sound of the gym’s doors opening with a faint whoosh. All the young heroes turned around, a bit surprised that Black Canary hadn’t announced her presence. But it wasn’t Dinah who walked through the door but— 

“Batman! I thought Agent A benched you,” Dick called across the room accusingly. Batman gave him a quelling look and Wally shivered, stepping behind Superboy. Connor scowled at him and stepped away. Wally squawked and Kaldur grumbled something about “idiots” and “teammates.” 

In that time, Robin had gathered his cape and was whispering harshly at Batman. Batman scowled icily enough that the whole room went down a few degrees in temperature. He growled lowly back at his partner and the team, who _definitely_ weren’t listening, heard a few snatched words: “not your place… I’m fine… not being ‘stupid,’” and finally, “enough, Robin!” Abruptly, Batman looked up and Aqualad, Artemis, Miss Martian, Kid Flash, and Superboy suddenly found the ceiling, their shoes, and the gym equipment, much more interesting. 

“Damn,” Connor muttered. Robin, who was marching back across the room towards them, glowered. 

“Has everyone warmed up?” Batman asked, moving closer. M’gann started to gasp, but stifled the sound after a severe look from Robin. Batman had a cast on his right leg up to his knee. His usual liquid, ghostly movements were altered too. He moved like a woman who’d lost one of her stilettoes, although his movements were still almost silent. As Batman came closer, it was also apparent that either he’d been impatient or angry, because his right boot looked a lot worse for wear than it normally did. It bulged oddly over the cast and looked almost ripped at the top, as if a frustrated Batman had simply taken a batarang to it and shoved his foot inside. 

“Well?” he barked, and everyone jumped (except for Robin, who merely scowled). 

“Yes, we’re ready,” Aqualad said calmly. Kid Flash glanced sideways at him, arching a brow as if to ask, ‘how is he so calm?’ Batman nodded. 

“Good. We’ll be working on teamwork today,” he said. Robin snorted, muttering something that sounded like, “teamwork, how _ironic_.” Batman shot him a sharp glare, which Dick returned fiercely. Ignoring his ward’s look, Batman continued, “I’ll pair you up.” 

Just then, the gym’s door opened again, and this time, it was Black Canary who entered. She took in the scene and her eyebrows rose. “Br— _Batman_. I thought I was taking over for you?” she asked, tone a kind of forced-calm. Batman tensed, and turned stiffly toward his colleague. 

“Who told you that?” he asked. Robin stilled besides his teammates. 

Dinah arched a brow. “Superman did…” she said, trailing off awkwardly. 

There was a moment of absolute silence, and then, Batman calmly said, “I see.” 

Dick muttered, “Great,” under his breath. Wally and Kaldur shot him questioning looks. He shook his head— not now. 

Dinah sighed, and then said, “Well, I’m here, and you’re…” she looked pointedly down at Batman’s leg. He growled. 

“I can still instruct the team,” he said sharply. Black Canary’s eyes narrowed. 

Abruptly, she turned toward the team and said, “Go run some laps. We’ll… get _this_ figured out and then we’ll start training.” Aqualad nodded and Robin stalked toward the track, cape fluttering behind him. 

… 

“Bruce,” Dinah sighed, pulling him into the hall, “you _know_ you’re not supposed to be here.” 

Bruce scowled at her, and replied sharply, “I promised that I’d do a lesson, and I will. It’s good if they have a variety of people training them.” 

At this, Black Canary scowled. Bruce clarified, “That wasn’t a remark against you, but you know the benefits of being trained in multiple styles of fighting, Canary.” She nodded, after a moment. 

“But you still shouldn’t be here. Especially if Superman took you off the roster, Bruce. It sets a bad precedent. And I know Dick was worried about you,” she said. 

Bruce glared, and then barked, “Don’t lecture me about setting bad precedents, Dinah! And don’t _ever_ try to guilt me into doing something by using Robin.” 

Black Canary threw up her hands. “For god’s sake, Bruce! That better not be another quip about Olly and I. We’ve been together since before either of us were Leaguers. And _you know_ I’m right! You shouldn’t be here.” She sighed, stalking away. Bruce stood there a moment, watching her walk away. Then he re-entered the gym. 

“Listen up! Aqualad, you’ll be paired with Robin, Superboy and Kid Flash, you’re together. Artemis, Miss Martian, you’re a pair. You’ll all be sparring on the mats until one team yields. Superboy, Kid Flash, you’re up first against Artemis and Miss Martian,” Batman barked. Connor gave him a look and M’gann pouted a little. Bruce ignored it. He also ignored the hard stare Dick was giving him. That was a headache he’d deal with later. 

“I want to see clean technique. No one gets injured, no one is sloppy, got it?” Bruce continued. After the team nodded, he gestured to the mat. “Let’s go.” 

… 

Fifteen minutes later, Bruce was observing the on-going fight between Superboy, Kid Flash, Miss Martian, and Artemis. He’d allowed Artemis to use her bow, but not arrows— personally, Bruce felt that all the Arrows relied too much on the tool— and had instructed Superboy not to use his flight. His opinion on how Supers fought without their powers was long-standing and understood already by Clark and the league. Not that Clark ever really stopped by and _talked_ to the boy. Bruce scowled again. That was another headache he’d have to deal with later. 

Wally was circling Artemis, but was continuously being thwarted by her bow. “If you can’t attack her that way, try something else,” Bruce called, “you’re wasting energy, Wally.” He turned his attention to the worse pair, Superboy and Miss Martian. They were circling each other half-heartedly, not really attacking. Bruce scowled again. He’d known there’d be trouble when Clark’s clone and J’ohn’s niece had begun their relationship. 

“You think you’re going to learn anything by circling each other like that? You might have to actually fight each other someday. Get to it,” Bruce barked, feeling a twinge of annoyance as his leg panged him. Normally, he’d be standing a lot closer, moving about and observing. But with the damned leg, all he could do was stand here at the sidelines and yell at them like some godforsaken middle school P.E. instructor. Connor scowled. 

Bruce asked sharply, “You have something to say, Superboy?” God, it would have been so much easier if Clark would actually parent him. But no, he left Bruce to do it. That attitude had definitely come from Clark, no matter how much the other man denied it. And Bruce had enough trouble from it with the original man of steel. 

“You don’t make Robin fight Kid Flash,” he said. Bruce suppressed a growl, and reminded himself that these were teenagers, and they were designed to be difficult. Also, he was probably being more sensitive because of his leg and the argument with Black Canary. So he moderated his tone. 

“Correct. I don’t make them fight because I know that Robin would have no trouble fighting Kid Flash if he had to,” he said. Robin looked up at him sharply, but offered no argument. 

“Hmph,” Connor said. Bruce sighed, _he really needed Clark to get involved with his son_. 

He tried a different approach. “I’ve fought Superman before, when he was mind-controlled. What do you think would be happening now if I hadn’t been willing to do that?” Bruce asked, tone kept intentionally flat. As predicted, that got Connor’s attention, and his glare softened. 

“Fine,” he grumbled. He turned to M’gann, who nodded. Superboy ran at her, fists already clenched to hit. 

Kid Flash had found a way past Artemis’ bow, and was currently pushing her back and forth, hoping to trip her up. Bruce nodded to himself. He was learning. Slowly, but he was learning. Now, who to switch out when one of the teams yielded? He’d probably switch out Artemis and Miss Martian, as they had no major issues in their technique that needed working-on today. Also, he wanted Kid Flash to fight Robin, to demonstrate his earlier point to Superboy. Aqualad could use a challenge, and Connor needed to practice controlling his powers. 

… 

For the third time, the doors to the gym opened. Bruce turned around to glare, but was brought up short. For it wasn’t Canary who was walking through the doors, face stern, but Superman. _She’d actually fucking done it_ , Bruce thought, momentarily impressed by her guts, _she’d reported him for ignoring benching orders_. But then, he remembered what she’d done, and he got angry. 

“Superman,” murmured Kid Flash. Connor abruptly froze. He quickly dropped Miss Martian’s wrist. 

“Superman,” Bruce said, annoyed that he sounded like an echo of Kid Flash. Clark’s eyes were hard. He turned to the team, eyes skipping over Connor. Connor, Bruce noted, seemed like a piece of marble. He really needed to deal with that. 

“I need to borrow Batman for a moment,” Clark said, _and god_ , Bruce thought, _he really was terrible with children. They weren’t three_. “Keep training. Good work,” he continued, before turning to Bruce. “Come on,” he said, gesturing to the hall. His eyes told Bruce that this wasn’t an invitation, and Bruce suspected that Clark would physically drag him from the room if he had to. So Bruce went. 

Clark shut the door after them. 

… 

“Batman,” Clark said, sounding disappointed. Bruce’s hackles raised. “We’ve talked about this! You can’t just go around ignoring league protocol,” Clark said, infuriatingly. 

“Remind me of that the next time you get kryptonite poisoning, Kal,” Bruce barked. Like he expected, Clark lurched back, looking defensive. 

“Now wait just a moment—” he sighed, paused, and refocused, “we’re not here about me, B. _You’re_ the one with the broken leg. And you’re the one who’s off the active-duty roster. Hell, I talked to Alfred, and he said he’d wanted you to stay home.” Now Bruce looked defensive. 

“Was this _his_ idea?” he asked. Clark shot him a look. 

“No. It was _our_ idea. C’mon, let Dinah take over,” Clark said, more gently. He reached a hand out to guide Bruce away and Bruce stepped back sharply. He hit his casted leg against the wall and couldn’t help the small wince, or gasp that escaped. Clark narrowed his eyes. 

“You didn’t take anything for the pain, did you,” he said, not even questioning. 

Bruce scowled from where he was pressed against the wall. Clark dropped his hand. “Of course not,” Bruce scoffed, “I wouldn’t do that in front of the team.” Clark gave him an indiscernible look and sighed. 

“Black Canary is taking over. Go tell the team,” Clark commanded. 

Bruce opened his mouth to object, because Superman _could not_ just order him around like that. But Clark, as if he knew what Bruce was going to say, cut him off. “Look, either you can go in and tell them, or I’ll carry you back to the manor myself.” Bruce shot him a glare, imagining all the ways he could stab Clark with kryptonite. 

Clark looked at him, this time with amusement behind his trying-to-be-stern eyes. “Stop mind-murdering me with kryptonite and go tell the team, Bruce.” Bruce flushed a little, and definitely did not startle-cough at being caught out like that. 

“I was _not_ ‘mind-murdering’ you, Clark. Fuck you,” he muttered under his breath as he reached the gym’s doors. 

There was a snort behind him. Bruce went back to mentally killing Clark. He was on to method 23 when he pushed open the door. 

Dinah looked up at his arrival and took one glance at his face. “Let me guess, you’re here to tell me I’m taking over,” she said neutrally. Angry as he was at her, he did appreciate that. 

“Yes,” Bruce said stiffly. Canary nodded. 

“Want me to call the team over?” she asked. 

“Fine,” Bruce grumbled. Canary nodded. 

_Damn Clark_ , Bruce thought. 

… 

“Black Canary is taking over for the rest of your lesson,” Bruce said, “something came up on a case, and it’s too important for me to miss. I’ll try to find a time to come back and re-do this lesson.” Dick looked a bit _too_ pleased, as if he’d guessed what had happened. Bruce mentally scowled at him and made a note to give his troublesome Robin a talking-to later. “Make sure to keep your technique clean, whatever you’re working on,” he said, turning away swiftly. 

Bruce did _not_ limp to the door. 

… 

Clark was waiting for him as Bruce left the gym. Bruce scowled at him, resolutely gritting his teeth at his leg. _Shit, shit, shit, shit_ , he cursed, as he took another step. Perhaps he wasn’t quiet as healed as he’d thought. Though it certainly should have been enough to teach a simple lesson. Bruce scowled. Clark was walking at Bruce’s side, matching his (slow) pace. 

“Do you want me to carry you?” Clark asked neutrally. 

Bruce stopped (not because his leg felt like Joker had taken a buzz saw to it). “No, goddamnit, I don’t fucking want you to carry me!” he growled, resuming his stomp-y-limp-y, slow gait. Red Tornado appeared from around the corner. Bruce groaned internally, and cursed Clark again. Because there was no way Red Tornado hadn’t heard that… and if there was one thing Batman hated as much as appearing weak in front of the league, it was appearing unprofessional in front of the league. And he’d definitely just done that. 

Red Tornado, thankfully, decided to be oblivious. “Hello, Batman, Superman. Staying long?” he asked. 

“We were just leaving,” Bruce replied. He realized that Clark was still hovering (though not literally) by his side. 

“Alright. Until next time,” Red Tornado said gracefully, and walked off. 

Clark waited until he was out of sight to start laughing. Bruce grit his teeth, and tried to storm off. But his damn leg chose that moment to throb, and he stumbled a little. Clark caught him and eased one of Bruce's arms around his shoulders. “There’s no one around,” he said gently. Bruce sighed, expecting that it was either this or being carried. And his leg really did hurt. 

“Fine,” he said. They continued like that until they reached the teleporter.


End file.
